Which to use
“détends” is a verb and “détenues” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,734
- “détends” frequency rank
- #19,822
- “détenues” frequency rank
- 60556
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | détends | détenues |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de détendre. | Féminin pluriel de détenu. |
Where the eye mixes détends and détenues
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. détends runs 7 letters (CVCVCCC) against détenues's 8 (CVCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses détends with détenues
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: détends is \de.tɑ̃\ while détenues is \de.tə.ny\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60556, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
détends is recorded at frequency rank #40,734, classified as averb, pronounced \de.tɑ̃\. détenues is at rank #19,822, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.tə.ny\.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 60556, this pair ranks #97,007 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of détends vs détenues
Shared letters: densté. Private to "détends": -. Private to "détenues": u.
"détends" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC · "détenues" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "détends" and "détenues" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "détends" vs "détenues" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "détends" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "détenues" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #97,007 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "détends" and "détenues" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détends vs détendus". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #97,007 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.